...Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System Alden Knight Health Services System – HSM541 DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management August 10, 2013 According to HHS when it comes to racial and ethnic disparities, they identify the lack of insurance as a significant driver of healthcare disparities. Lack of insurance, more than any other demographic or economic barrier, negatively affects the quality of health care received by minority populations. Racial and ethnic minorities are significantly less likely than the rest of the population to have health insurance. They constitute about one-third of the U.S. population, but make up more than half of the 50 million people who are uninsured (HHS 2011). Unfortunately, it has a negative impact on the U.S. healthcare delivery system. Primary care is the most important part of the health care system. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the AHRQ, about 30 percent of Hispanic and 20 percent of Black Americans lack a usual source of health care compared with less than 16 percent of whites. Also, Black Americans and Hispanic Americans are far more likely to rely on hospitals or clinics for their usual source of care than are White Americans (AHRQ 2013). The American Hospital Association or the AHA has convened the Special Advisory Group on Improving Hospital Care for Minorities as part of ongoing...
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...Socioeconomic Status and Health Disparity in America Over the years, researchers have uncovered a strong link between socioeconomic status and one’s risk for being affected by healthy disparities (Ethnic, 2015).When examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and health, evidence shows those with the lowest income and education are the unhealthiest, while most advantaged individuals are the healthiest (Braveman, et al, 2009). It is possible through continued research and broadened knowledge surrounding different cultures and biological factors, we may be able to close certain gaps that exist today and reduce the risk for healthy disparity in America. There are many factors that are used today to measure diversity in socioeconomic status. For example, the relationships between demographics, income, and health help us understand what elevates risk for disparity. Some of the demographic factors include: race and ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, special health care needs, and geographic location (Disparities, 2015). While some groups are impacted greater than others, it is important to acknowledge that these inequities are affecting our society as a whole and should be a priority of concern for all (Ethnic, 2015). When considering how a higher income could produce a healthier future, we see that wealthier people have greater accessibility to key resources. Someone with a high income is more likely to have sufficient health coverage and live in a safe neighborhood...
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...Health disparities are defined as unequal burdens in disease morbidity and mortality rates which are often experienced by the minority racial/ethnic groups. In today’s population ethnic and racial disparities exist for various and intricate reasons, which has grave impacts on an individual’s access to health care. These disparities have been around for several centuries and continue to be problematic despite the little progression being made with the revisions of preexisting health care laws. Laws and regulations are continually being revised to allow further health insurance expansions in hopes to reduce the ethnic and racial disparities for access to adequate care. Even with the increase in awareness, policymakers and clinicians have...
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...Health Disparity as a Public Health Initiative A Public Health Initiative involves all the activities whose establishment points towards improving the present and forthcoming defines in the health sector. The significant aim of PHI encompasses from the provision of essentials that assists given countries to adhere to the practice of healthy policies. In the long run, it will in turn lead to the creation of various opportunities including research and training of health workers. One of the health initiatives involves the Health Disparity. There exists a broad discrimination in the event in which various patients receive health services. It, therefore, puts health disparity as one of the public health initiatives. In this regard, this paper discusses more health inequality and its relevance to the health sector (Barr, 2014). Health disparity is a standard issue in the present world. It is a matter that arises due to the distinctiveness in the ethnic background, the color difference of individuals and the even difference in the language spoken. However, in the event of finding a solution to the given disparity, there exist certain principles of economics for evaluating and assessing the need for health inequality. The first principle advocates for the equal treatment of everybody in need of medical attention. It is a principle whose aims majors in equity (Bayer, 2012). Regardless of an individual’s ethnic background, each and every person dwelling in the planet earth deserves...
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...December 2, 2012 ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISPARITY IN HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA Disparity in US Health Care is multifactorial, they reflect the differences in demographics, social-economic as well as environmental factors. The Journal of the American Medical Association identifies race as a significant determinant in the level of quality of care, with ethnic minority groups receiving less intensive and lower quality care. Ethnic minorities receive less preventative care, are seen less by specialists, and have fewer expensive and technical procedures than non-ethnic minorities. Studies have shown that this disparity affects the biological vulnerability to disease, utilization of health system in US and health care interventions. Understanding and intervening in the health disparity in the US is imperative because the US population is changing. According to the American Health Association (AHA), by 2050 Minority groups will compose almost half of the U.S. population by 2050. The biggest increase will occur within the Hispanic population. In December 2007, the American Hospital Association (AHA) created the Special Advisor Group on Improving Hospital Care for Minorities as part of effort to ensure equitable treatment of all patients. This article will discuss the issues related to disparity and how the American Hospital Association is taken several steps in helping aid in eliminating the racial disparity in health care. Health disparities in the quality of care exist and are based...
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...diversity of the population, comes the need for a diverse and culturally competent nursing workforce to care appropriately for patients. The purpose of this paper is to examine diversity in the workplace, its importance to nursing as a profession and its impact on the delivery of culturally competent nursing care. Importance of Diversity in the Workplace Huston (2014) reveals that age, gender, customs, religion, physical size, physical and mental capabilities, beliefs, culture, ethnicity, and skin color are all forms of diversity. Despite the shift in demography of today’s society, which reflects an increasingly culturally diverse population (Phillips and Malone, 2014), the majority of nurses in the workforce are white, middle-aged females (Mattson, 2009). Making the nursing workplace more heterogeneous, diverse and representative of the population (Phillips and Malone, 2014), helps to promote quality of care and decrease disparities in healthcare (Huston, 2014). Maier-Lorentz (2008) adds that diversity in the workplace fosters cultural competency, which is vital to the provision of holistic and optimal care to this diverse patient population. Summary of One Aspect of Diversity One aspect of Diversity in the workplace is Generational diversity. With the current aging nursing population averaging forty-years of age (Mason, Leavitt and Chaffee, 2014), the current nursing workforce is comprised of nurses from four different categorized generations that work together...
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...deficit in nursing staff since the early 1900’s (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). As healthcare has transformed from the late 1800’s to the 2010’s, nursing has had to alter its practice to remain relevant and current with each era. This paper will share insight into the potential causes of the current nursing shortage, offer awareness of how nurses are preparing themselves to work in this setting and suggest methods through legislation to alleviate safety concern produced by limited staffing. Events Leading to the Nursing Shortage Current predictions by the American Healthcare Association (2009)...
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...16156957 Contents 1.0 Introduction____________________________________________________________2 2.0 Strengths 2.0.1 Medicare__________________________________________________________2 2.0.2 Eligibility and Coverage of Medicare___________________________________3 3.0 Weaknesses 3.0.1 Indigenous Health__________________________________________________3 3.0.2 Availability________________________________________________________4 3.0.3 Limitations of Medicare______________________________________________4 4.0 Opportunities 4.0.1 E-health Records and Technology_____________________________________4 4.0.2 Ambulance Fees____________________________________________________5 5.0 Threats 5.0.1 Workforce shortage_________________________________________________5 5.0.2 Competence in the Workforce_________________________________________5 5.0.3 Primary Care in Isolation____________________________________________6 6.0 Conclusion_____________________________________________________________6 7.0...
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...Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1, WEEK 6 Assignment 1 Teassa Eubanks Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness Mansour Rostami, Instructor November 13, 2010 Minority Population | Health disparities | Native American Indian Native Alaskan | Health disparities are believed to be the result of the complex interaction among genetic variations, environmental factors, and specific health behaviors. Compared with other Americans, Indians experience disproportionately high mortality from alcoholism, tuberculosis, diabetes, injuries, suicide, and homicide. Tribal leaders report that diabetes, unintentional injuries, alcoholism, and substance abuse are rising to crisis proportions in American Indian and Alaska Native communities | Asian | Lack of access to regular care. Asians are least likely to report having a personal doctor compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the US. 19.4 % of Asian adults compared to 12.9% of whites report being without a usual source of health care. Cambodians and Vietnamese are three times more likely to forgo visiting a doctordue to cost compared to all Asians or US residents.• Less satisfaction with care. Compared to other racial and ethnic groups, Asians are least likely to be satisfied with the speed of their care, doctor-patient communication, and office staff.• Fewer preventive services. Asians are less likely to have blood pressure monitoring and pap smears. In fact,cervical cancer screening...
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...As a manager in any organization or institution you are faced with many task and responsibilities. Managers must be equipped with both technical and interpersonal skills in order to thrive in today’s business world. These skills include leadership, motivation, team work, conflict-resolution abilities and an understanding of diversity and diversity management. Today’s work population is constantly changing; we encounter different people from all walks of life. As a result there is more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue in the field of management. According to some experts “Diversity can have two competing perspectives. The first perspective embraces the “information value of diversity” and the importance of “celebrating our differences”. The second perspective believes that diversity contributes to conflict because “similarity attracts” and therefore, it is best not to draw attention to diversity and instead emphasize that as human beings our commonalities far outweigh our differences. The first perspective argues for customization, while the second advocates for homogenization. Whatever your perspective, the facts remain the same; today’s work population is changing and with any change comes both challenges and opportunities for organizations and their leaders. Diversity Management is a combination of programs, policies and...
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...Economic Efficiency Over the last decade, income inequality has become one of the most important issues in the U.S. and a subject of a lot of debate. There is a prevalent idea in the society that the wealth inequality in United States is currently at the highest level in the history after steadily raising for a number of decades. The financial crisis is said to have contributed to this significant gap between the top 1% and everybody else. People view it as an inherently negative thing, and fight hard to promote the equality and income redistribution. This paper examines the causes of inequality; the relationship between wealth inequality and economic growth and the hypothesis on how policy measures can be designed to mitigage the income disparity both in U.S. and in the rest of the world. The researh is based on the theory that inequality is an essential aspect of an efficient free market economy that adversely affects economic growth when in excess. When it comes to global wealth inequality, people often tend to accuse capitalism. In fact, the real laissez-faire capitalism doesn't exist anywhere on our planet. According to its definition, laissez faire is "an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from intrusive government restrictions, tariffs, and subsidies, with only enough regulations to protect property rights." It has been previously proven free markets lead to the most efficient use of economic resources and makes everybody better off in...
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...Transcultural Nursing Theory Applied Vulnerable Populations I "Nowhere are the divisions of race, ethnicity and culture more sharply drawn that in the health of the people in the United States. Despite recent progress in overall national health, there are continuing disparities in the incidence of illness and death among African Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders as compared with the US population as a whole." --National Center for Cultural Competence Population addressed Population addressed In 1950, U.S.-born whites made up about 90 percent of the U.S. population. By 2000, this number declined to about 75 percent, and by 2050 non-Hispanic whites will be in the numerical minority (U.S. Census Bureau 2001, 2002). This rapid diversification requires healthcare organizations to pay closer attention to cross-cultural issues if they are to meet the healthcare needs of the nation and continue to maintain a high standard of care. Looking at the Country as a whole the current area of discussion for this paper is the area of Western North Carolina and the population of Asheville, which is a melting pot of cultures which the combination they create is unique to no other. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau statistics for Asheville, N.C. the current demographics break down as follows: Asheville [City] Population (current estimate), 70,400. Buncombe County Population (2006), 222,174, county in...
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...In one study found, it showed that out of 840 employees who were tested on their competency, only 77 percent passed at medical interpreter level, while 21 percent passed at basic level, and 2 percent did not pass at all (Moreno et. al., 2007). This goes on to prove that education to become a medical interpreter is very important. It would definitely reduce the amount of medical errors that occur. The need for assessments within the healthcare field is very crucial. There is an exam known as the Language Competence Assessment Exam and it consists of a written and oral component in English and the second language (Moreno et al., 2007). This exam is used to assess whether the interpreters fail, are labeled basic, or medical. The need for training is also very essential when it comes to being a medical interpreter. There are a few colleges or universities that offer training, but if there is none around in the area, people can train online by using the resources necessary (FAQ, n.d.). Training is necessary to help prevent any medical errors that can occur in the healthcare...
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...to gather some momentum since 2004 when President George Bush outlined detailed plan to ensure access of electronic health records by all Americans by 2014 (Bush, Executive Order 13335) To achieve this goal, President George Bush created a new, sub-cabinet level National Health Information Technology Coordinator position at the Department of Health and Human Services to implement health IT infrastructure nationwide. The biggest push targeted towards promoting the adoption of EMR technology came with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 2009 by the U.S. Congress which appropriated $19 billion dollars government assistance to jump start the adoption of EMR technology by physicians, clinics, and hospitals. The healthcare reforms highlighted in the ARRA include an investment of $50 billion in health information technology (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA), 2009). There is the new federal HIT initiative program for health care organizations who adapt electronic health record systems. HIT initiative program was created to improve the quality of care by linking two providers...
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...Cigna is a multifarious health care organization whose company reaches across the world to provide healthcare, to its consumer. Cigna has roots in the healthcare business from its parental foundation, dating back hundreds of years. In 1982, Cigna began its own venture in the healthcare organization in the state of Connecticut after the unification of Insurance Company of North America (INA) and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CG). By expanding its services to customers in the United States and around the globe that provides medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance, and related products, Cigna has become a global health service leader. Network Growth and Strategies In 2014, Cigna launched a new brand campaign,...
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